I'd really suggest heading over to
backyard herds. At BYH, you will find a lot of folks who can help you out. There are some goat keepers here (like me), but I personally don't have the time to type up a very thorough answer to all your questions, but I will do some quick ones.
Ive been wanting goats for a long time, i have researched some and know they need a good diet, shelter and STRONG fence and love, Sunday we came across a goat and brought him home seems to be doing good. i went to feed store hopeing they could tell me what all i needed i thought feed, some kind of hay minerals and dewormer but they sent me home with sweet feed only. so first question is sweat feed enough?
also i think he his 3-4 months old i want him neutered is he too old for banding?
i thougjt i wanted him dehorned but after internet search im scared to do that, what do yall think?
im also planing on getting another goat asap for company. my goat follows my chickens around and when he gets up where they roost they run away like he has the plege its so sad. If he is neutered does it matter if i get another male or would a female be better?
Thanks celeste
He isn't too old to be wethered (this is the term for neutering a goat). You'd just need a larger sized bander, one that fit around his nards. And I DO recommend wethering him if he is to be a pet. Bucks are smelly, noisy, and only have one thing on their brains: breeding. Not something you want in a pet. I'd know, I keep two bucks. I love them, but they can get very annoying when they smell a girl in heat. If I wanted a pet, I wouldn't want an animal I can smell from 500 feet away, that rank buck stank.
Sweet feed is OK if he is used to it, and even then, only feed it sparingly.
But he needs hay. Hay is essential for a healthy rumen, and it needs to be the bulk of his diet. Mineral, any general goat mineral is fine. If the mineral says it is for goats and sheep, don't use it, it won't have enough copper for a goat to be healthy. Goats needs copper at a level that kills sheep, so it is left out of the combo minerals. Feed a loose mineral, not a block. The blocks are almost all table salt (it holds the block together) and does not have enough of the other trace minerals. I keep the loose mineral in a pan attached to my barn/stall walls, where they can lick it up as needed.
He is too old for most dehorning techniques, most are done when they are less than a week old, two weeks tops. You could just stick some tennis balls on his horns to blunt the edges. Disbudding (removing a tiny kid's horn buds) isn't a fun process, but all dairy goat breeds cannot be shown in the US if they have horns. Also, if you've nearly been speared in the eye with a horn (like me), then you will think the 5-10 seconds of pain is worth it. My kids all get painkillers before I cauterize their horn buds, and they're back to Mom in a couple of minutes, acting like nothing happened. If you truly want his horns gone, you can band his horns. Google
horn banding. I did it to the boer who nearly stabbed me in the eye (he hit my cheek because I flinched in time), and it was a long, terrible process that caused him a lot of pain.
Yes, do get another goat. If you want to him him intact (again, I do not recommend it for a pet), then do not get a female. Get another male. Keeping an intact buck with a female will lead to disaster for the female. He will breed her as soon as he can. Then when she gives birth, breed her immediately following birth. What you'll have is back to back cycles of pregnancy in which she cannot have time to recover (pregnancy is taxing on them). If you wether him, then feel free to get a female. Some breeders offer buck service, so you can have a female bred without needing to own an intact buck.
